Iran Focus
London, 9 Sep – The final group of Iranian dissidents residing in Camp Liberty departed Iraq for Albania earlier on Friday, the Iranian opposition announced in a statement, adding that the final round of departures marked the “successful conclusion” to the process of relocating members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) outside of Iraq “despite the Iranian regime’s conspiracies, obstruction and threats, which continued until the very last day”.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said in a statement that the 4-and-a-half-year-long resettlement process saw PMOI members relocated to European countries, including Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, Italy and Spain. Close to 2,000 Camp Liberty residents left Iraq since the beginning of 2016, the NCRI said.
“In this process, the religious dictatorship ruling Iran provided red notices to Interpol and used fake arrest warrants issued by the Iraqi Judiciary in a bid to prevent the departure of 1,000 PMOI members, and arrest officials and other well-known figures”, the statement said.
“Exploiting the post-invasion atmosphere in Iraq, the ruling clerical regime did its utmost to destroy the PMOI/MEK. Three massacres at Camp Ashraf, five missile attacks on Camp Liberty, two cases of abduction of residents, and the imposition of a full-fledged eight-year siege, which left 177 residents dead, constituted parts of this inhumane, albeit futile, plan”.
“The goal of the Iranian regime was not to see the departure of PMOI members from Iraq; rather, it sought to annihilate or force them into surrender. The victorious transfer of the PMOI members and regime’s major defeat in this regard, which takes place simultaneous with growing calls seeking justice for 30,000 political prisoners massacred in 1988, opens a new chapter for the Iranian people and Resistance”.
In its annual declaration adopted a few days ago, the NCRI commended the “tireless efforts” of its President-elect Maryam Rajavi to ensure protection for the safe transfer of Camp Liberty residents outside Iraq. The NCRI said the support extended to the Iranian Resistance by distinguished American, European and Arab personalities provided a “political shield” for the resettlement of PMOI members, noting that otherwise, the “Iranian regime and its Iraqi proxies would not have allowed the safe departure of even a single PMOI member from Iraq”.
The NCRI statement added: “In the course of the process to resettle Camp Liberty residents, Iraqi intelligence agents, acting at the behest of the Iranian regime’s ambassador to Iraq (a commander of the terrorist Quds Force), prevented the residents from taking with them their personal belongings, such as computers, radios, cell phones, and even electric shavers. The agents confiscated 255 personal computers today and yesterday, alone. The residents strongly urge the UNAMI to take back the computers and send them to Albania at the first possible opportunity at the expense of the residents”.
“On the other hand, despite its previous commitments, the Iraqi side prevented the sale of over 90 percent of the residents’ property. The residents had signed a contract with a government-approved Iraqi merchant to sell their property for $10.7 million. But, in the end, Iraqi agents only allowed the sale of 10 percent of the property at one-fourth of the market price”.
“Previously, during former Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s tenure, $550 million worth of residents’ property at Camp Ashraf was seized and placed at the disposal of the Iraqi military and militias. The Iranian Resistance underscores its legitimate right to legally pursue this matter in courts in order to receive commensurate compensation for the property”.
“In recent weeks, the clerical regime’s Quds Force provided an assortment of missiles to, and tasked three of its Iraqi proxy groups, Kata’eb Hezbollah, Asa’eb Ahl Al-Haq, and Harakat al-Nujaba, to launch missile attacks on Camp Liberty at the earliest possible opportunity. On August 19, 2016, Kata’eb Hezbollah stationed a missile-equipped truck at a location near Camp Liberty. But the plan to attack was discovered and thwarted by Iraq’s Federal Police”, the NCRI added.
